PHOTO: Lianhe Zaobao, China Press

Businessman See Lam Huat, 55, died on the spot after the Porsche car he was driving rammed into a road divider and plunged into a ravine.

He had made the headlines last month for taking younger brother Lam Seng to court, accusing him of copyright breach, defamation and passing off goods as those of another's. Both buy electrical goods from China and sell them to buyers from Cameroon.

In turn, the younger sibling had counter-sued for malicious falsehood and groundless threats of copyright breach action. Both had been suing each other for years, the judge in the case noted.

Yesterday, the police chief of Nusajaya district, Noor Hashim Mohamad, told The Straits Times in a statement that Mr See, who lived in Johor, was heading towards Senai when he lost control of his Porsche.

The accident happened at around 4.30pm.

"The driver died on the spot due to serious injuries while his front passenger sustained minor injuries to her legs," the police chief added.

He said the body of Mr See was taken to Hospital Temenggong Seri Maharaja Tun Ibrahim in Kulaijaya, Johor, for a post-mortem while the passenger was treated at Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor. He was later found to have died of severe head injuries.

The Straits Times understands that the Malaysian passenger Saw Sze Ching, 31, was Mr See's secretary and his wife's cousin.

Initial investigations showed that the driver was probably at fault as road and weather conditions were good, said Superintendent Noor Hashim, adding that the case was classified as one of reckless driving.

The crash had wrecked the Singapore-registered car, he added.

When The Straits Times visited Mr See's electrical goods business Singsung in Upper Weld Road in Little India yesterday, the premises were shuttered.

His older brother, See Lam Hai, 57, who runs S2 Electronics a few doors down, said that their mother and one of their younger brothers had gone to Malaysia to bring his body back to Singapore.

"He has never been known to speed. He was always careful," he said in Mandarin, adding that his brother was the fourth of nine sons in the family. There are also two daughters.

Another younger brother, who manages electronics store S K Electrical Trading across the road from Singsung, said Mr See Lam Huat had two children: a son in his 20s from his first marriage and a three-year-old daughter from his current marriage.

He did not want to be named, but said that his brother was divorced from his first wife.

He said that "Lam Huat enjoyed his cars" and owned five in Singapore and Malaysia. He had been driving the orange-white Porsche for several years and would return to Singapore about three times a week to work out of his warehouse, he said in Mandarin. He added that he had known his brother to be a "steady and careful driver".

It is understood that the funeral will be held in Singapore.

Asked what he thought of his brother, Mr See Lam Hai would only say: "Now he's gone, whether he is good or bad, what does it matter?"